AONN+ Blog

AONN+’s CATCH (Catching & Addressing Threats to Care & Health) Initiative has brought to light the many ways in which navigators are intervening within their own organizations to influence positive outcomes. At Annual 2023, we had the opportunity to celebrate two navigators whose CATCHs truly exemplified the value and efficiency of navigators. Please join us in congratulating Nurse Navigator CATCH of the Year Laura Kaminski, and Patient Navigator CATCH of the Year, Cynthia Shechter.

It’s been a very busy fall for members of AONN+’s Leadership Council, with members presenting at prominent national meetings on a near weekly basis. At each venue, we served as advocates for the navigation profession and as ambassadors for AONN+. Learn what we’ve accomplished to date and where you can look for us next!

Monica Dean, AONN+ Director of Patient Navigation, gave the keynote address at the Cancer Patient Navigators of Georgia Annual Meeting on September 25, 2023. She shares that the meeting theme, “Community of Navigation: Working Together Towards Patient-Centered Care,” speaks to the heart and soul of patient navigation.

How is the value of a navigator being captured in your care system? In this article, AONN+ Program Director Sharon Gentry talks about the importance of patient feedback in demonstrating the value of navigation care and ways that this information can be solicited.

In April, Leadership members Emily Gentry and Jordan Henderson, AONN+ Director of Program Development, traveled to San Antonio to represent AONN+ at the annual Oncology Nursing Society’s annual Congress. They came back refreshed, reenergized, and full of new ideas for AONN+.

The opportunity to attend the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) annual meeting is a highlight for many AONN+ members. This year, Emily Gentry and Monica Dean, Director of Patient Navigation Program Development, represented AONN+’s Leadership team at ASCO.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) Cancer Action Network (CAN) held its 12th Annual Conference in Washington, DC, on May 10 with a focus on oncology patient navigation sustainability. A series of robust panel discussions that included representation from AONN+ leaders both past and present took place.

Throughout May and June, Sharon Gentry has had several opportunities to see our LNN members “in action,” presenting at national and local meetings. In addition to highlighting the importance of navigation on a grander stage, these interactions serve a secondary goal by providing Sharon with the chance to hear and learn about the specific activities and challenges of each group—information she then brings back to AONN+ leadership for future planning.

Following a cancer diagnosis, a person will meet with a host of healthcare professionals. And while most are familiar with the roles of a doctor, surgeon, or nurse, the role of a navigator may be somewhat new. Jordan Henderson recently collaborated with Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) to develop educational materials to help patients understand the role of the navigator in their breast cancer care.